To Lie Down with Dogs
by xPiki
Summary: Prison on Asgard can seem like a five star hotel compared to the dingy and obviously flawed system on Earth. So, just how will Loki acclimate from being a prince, to living with the lowest?


Once the council had made a decision; that was it. Sure, they "included" Director Fury in their discussions, but it was more to inform him what was happening than to actually take his opinion into account. Especially when it came to Loki's case. It pissed him off that they wouldn't listen to him considering he was the only one of the five to actually come in contact with the asgardian. But again they'd taken the liberty of forgetting to tell him that they were having a meeting. Honestly, the last think Fury needed was these people making more quick decisions. They did just almost nuke New York City only hours ago.

"You do realize that Loki managed to escape a prison designed for Dr. Banner correct?" Fury was rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, "How can you think just some beefed up security is going to hold him?"

Earth had been given the privilege, as the asgardians had called it, to decide Loki's fate. God or no god the council believed he should be held responsible for his crimes on earth, and for some reason Odin agreed. Fury was pretty sure it had to do with getting the wretch out of his own backyard without having to kill him, but the Director had been in no hurry relieve him of said burden.

"Security is all we have Director. Am I correct in assuming no one was watching Loki's cell at the time of his escape? We'll have eyes on him at all times, and he will be temporarily stripped of his magic courtesy of his father for the duration of his stay. We don't believe there's any reason to be worried."

"No reason to be worried, I watched as he destroyed New York City and you're telling me there's no reason to be worried" Fury sounded just about at his wits end. But they believed they had it all figured out.

"He won't have any power Director."

"No. Just a couple thousand years of weapons training should do him just fine. At least tell me he'll be in maximum security."

"Unfortunately-"

"And why is that?" A pause.

"Because, we believe he'll have a harder time fitting in with fellow inmates than if he were to be placed in solitude. We're not about to grant him any solace during his sentence here."

* * *

Loki was sprawled like a fly caught in a spider's web across the floor of his prison cell. The silence was suffocating but he preferred it over the alternative of his mother; constantly griping about this or that like everything was normal. Nothing was normal anymore, and it hurt to see her more than it helped. He still remembered the sad look she gave him when he had returned to Asgard, Thor gripping him tightly to limit a possible escape. He must have looked like hell.

Not that he looked much better now. Thin, pale, and still wearing his blood stained armor. He figured it was because they weren't keeping him here, but when they told him they were releasing him to Midgard he almost asked them to repeat the statement. Like Midgard knew what they were dealing with. Not that he was going to escape, no. He wasn't concerned with their ability to keep him in. He was concerned of their ability to keep others out.

The guards retrieved him late at night, forcing him to his feet before placing magic restricting cuff on his wrists. They led him up the steps and down to the rainbow bridge. He was held by his arms, his head high as they neared the bifrost. Odin and Thor greeted him with blank expressions and he scowled as a retort. Loki could see the cracks in Thors indifference, his calm demeanor fading as he watched his only brother being hauled off. Odin was just as cold as ever however as he stepped forward.

"Loki, for your crimes against the nine realms, you are hereby banished from Asgard." With a loud bang Odin crashed his staff to the floor and with it Loki's powers drained from his body. He was left in nothing but his tunic and black pants when it was over, having been stripped of his armor and his title. He was truly nothing but a felon now. The prince felt dizzy for a moment, his vision going blurry as his new mortal form adjusted to itself. "With you power stripped from you and by the power invested in me, you shall stay under the care of the people of Midgard. You shall never again set foot-"

"Yes yes, I understand. This isn't the trial, there's no need to be so formal anymore." Loki's familiar smirk appeared as he inclined his head to face his brother. "Come now brother, no tearful goodbye this time? No more trying to convince me to stay?"

But Thor stayed silent, his calm façade cracking but never splitting. He had to hand it to him. His brother was usually such a big pushover he was surprised when he kept his lips sealed.

"Loki," Odin said softly to bring his attention back to the matter at hand,  
"You understand the terms of your exile," The sound of the bifrost whirring to life filled the room. The crackle of lightning as the rainbow bridge connected a path to Midgard. Loki was lead to the threshold. "From this point on you will have no contact with our world, I hereby, cast you out."

The words held a slight sting as they were said ever so calmly and he hated himself for letting them. Loki was bitter at Odin for being able to keep such a calm presence while throwing out his youngest son. Or could he even call himself that now. Casting him out, or throwing him away now that he no longer had use. He never blamed the all father for being able to stay so calm, and now he knew perfectly well why that was the case.

After stepping through the bifrost he arrived moments later in the hands of a couple dozen shield agents who seized and cuffed him immediately. He let them, unable to do much else, but when he saw the flicker of a shadow come out of the bifrost he paused and tried to turn. It was pitch black and it left Loki in a daze, the only thing in sight was dirt for miles except for four black vans and about twenty different shield personnel including the one Thor spoke about, the son of Coul. The agents kept a firm hand on him and he only got a glimpse before he was shoved into a sleek black vehicle. He saw Thor standing in the last light of bifrost before the door shut on him and the vehicle was started.

He was baffled why his brother would follow after him. He had stayed silent during Loki's trial, and even when he got sentenced to Midgard. So why decide to come? The all father must have forced him. There was simply no other explanation, and Loki didn't allow himself to hope it was because Thor actually cared. That hope had died a long time ago and he wouldn't allow himself to rekindle it.

His head whipped around to look out the back window, but he could see nothing but darkness. Even the lights of the vehicles wasn't sufficient enough to make out faces outside.

"Something peak your interest?" A woman's voice chimed in from beside him.

"Ms. Romanoff." He drawled on coolly, "It's a pleasure to see you again." He smiled wide despite her unwavering icy glare.

"Eyes forward." She said before breaking eye contact and leaving Loki with nothing visually stimulating for a good three hours. They drove in complete silence, which was more or less what he was expecting. They regarded him only with looks of disgust or bewilderment to the fact he actually existed. Loki was pretty used to it by now. He gazed out the window for most of the ride, but was looking at nothing but black for the majority of it.

Looking at the clock he noted that it was very early in the morning for Midgard, meaning he would have to shift his sleeping pattern. He yawned and decided the flat desert landscape could wait. But, just as he was about to place his head on the door Natasha interrupted him, obviously on purpose.

"Wait here."

Loki growled but she was already gone when he turned to look. She was outside, at the front of the car, talking to a bald man Loki didn't recognize and he sat back to wait. Natasha looked troubled, probably surprised about something he didn't care about, but he had nowhere else to look. So he convinced himself it was interesting enough to hold off this incessant drowsy feeling. The bald man handed her a folder, she said something that looked like a goodbye and her typical stoic mask was back. She acted like nothing was happening and said nothing to him once she reentered the vehicle. The man went his separate way.

He didn't care to ask what was happening. He just wanted to sleep, and the farther they went the harder it seemed to stay awake. Usually he could fight off drowsiness for a good amount of time, and fatigue never usually set in so early. He blamed it on this weak form and fought to stay awake.

Buildings were starting to pop up here and there, but most of them seemed abandoned or burnt to the ground or something equally as destructive. Loki was brain numbingly bored by the time they pulled through a tall wire fence towards a building that was just as visually unappealing as the desert around it. If that was it, they were going to have to do much better.

The car pulled up to a fenced off walkway and he noticed that same agent Thor was speaking about walk up to the driver's window. They opened his door and brought Loki out into the sunlight, his face looking deathly pale against his dark asgardian clothing.

They surrounded him, two people grabbing him by his arms and his shoulders, and they led him inside. The inside was just as bland as the outside, the walls a dull shade of tan with simple white tile floors. Loki couldn't see anything else beyond the walls of shield agents around him until they dispersed and a barred door was shut behind him. The son of Coul approached him from another door in front of him. With the wave of his hand a few more agents moved forward to remove the handcuffs; Loki didn't move an inch.

"You look well." He commented, allowing the slight astonishment to creep into his voice as he rubbed his wrists.

Coulson was very professional, but he allowed a slight sly smile as he motioned towards another door to his right.

"Right this way." He cooperated, stepping through the door to a smaller room. Is this where they planned on keeping him? He spun around to find that instead of Coulson, another man followed him inside. This one looked like more of a guard, but instead of a blue uniform like he'd seen in the city, it was white, and he seemed much less armed.

This mans voice was gruff," Strip." Loki just looked confused," You speak English? You know, get undressed. Here." The man threw the clothes he'd been holding and Loki caught them with one hand. He raised an eyebrow at the man, biting his tongue about his rather demanding tone.

"Am I allowed privacy?"

"My job is to make sure you stay in this building."

He wasn't thrilled with the answer but its not like he expected anything more. He swallowed his pride for the time being and did as he was told. As bad as it was, it was much better than the alternative. Well, other than prison on Asgard. At least he would be able to keep his clothes on there. With a frustrated sigh he complied, turning his back to the man and getting undressed. He changed into that bright orange atrocity and followed the shorter man through another door. This place was like a maze already.

The next room was a bit bigger and looked more like a storage area. He was handed a bedsheet, a blanket, and a pillow, none of it looking very comfortable, before he was yanked through the next door and escorted into the prison itself. Loki took note of the various sheild agents posted throughout the building.

They walked him to the main cell block and that's where they dropped him. The cell door was locked behind him, leaving him with two other inmates. Both were wearing dark navy blue, but only one was looking straight at him. The other on the lower bunk couldn't seem to care less. Either that or he was sleeping. Loki really couldn't tell since he lay facing the wall.

"Logan look, we got a new friend." The other man, Logan, didn't respond," And he's tall too." The man sat up to get a better look at Loki, who immediately stood up taller.

"I am Loki, of Asgard." He stated, but the other seemed unfazed.

"No shit. And I'm Wade, of Canada. Really, everyone knows who you are." Wade snickered softly and pointed to the bunkbed on the other side of the cell. "Top or bottom?"

Loki glaced over to the sleeping arrangements," I would prefer the one below."

"Of course you would." He didn't really understand what Wade was insinuating, but he had a good idea, and opted to simply ignore it. Loki placed the sheets and blanket on the bed, but in the end, he didn't really know what to do with them.

"What princess, never learned how to make a bed?" Loki grit his teeth. Not even three minutes and hed already heard enough from his cellmate. He heard the sound of boots hitting the floor as the other got down from his bunk to inspect the scene. He stood beside Loki," Ill help you this one time. Ive been itching for something as exciting as bedmaking to do today."

He reached for the sheets but Loki pulled them away," I'm fine on my own."

"Yea sure you are."

Loki was just about to attempt to prove his point when an alarm went off. Wade grabbed him by the arm and Logan stood from his bed. He looked like he really had been sleeping.

"Stand up against the wall newbie."

He glared at the shorter man and pulled his arm out of his grip," I don't take orders from mortals."

Wade just shrugged and stepped back, hands in the air, allowing Loki to get back to his bedmaking, where his skill was currently lacking. It only took a couple minutes for a guard to come in and shake his head in disapproval.

"Why isn't he in position Wilson?"

"Says he doesn't take orders from mortals, sir."

"Hm?" The guard approached Loki," Up against the wall inmate." Loki just looked at the man with disgust, which forced him to roll his eyes. " Im sorry, would you like me to escort you?"

In a quick moment the guard had Loki up against the wall with his hands behind his back. His face was crushed against the cement and he couldn't fight back without his magic. This mortal form was much weaker than he'd originally anticipated. Unlike Thor, he didn't have the muscle mass, meaning he didn't retain any sort of godly strength like his brother before him had.

The man laughed and let go of Loki's hands, but kept him pinned to the wall should he try anything," Welcome back to New York."


End file.
